Somehow this year has gone by crazy quick, and we’re already into April.
For the last year, I’ve written a “what I earned and learned” post after every quarter, and it’s a great way for me to personally reflect and set some intentions for the next quarter.
Even if you don’t have a newsletter, I’d encourage you to sit down for an hour and write up your learnings, take a look at your income sources, and decide what you want to focus on next quarter.
Just having things written down helps a ton.
What I learned in Q1
Travel fuels me, but it takes time to get into a routine.
This Q1 has felt like a slow ramp up to the year. I went back to California for the holidays and spent a month avoiding the NY winter weather. Then, I went to London for two weeks, followed by Mexico City for three.
The community feeling in Mexico City!
At the time of writing this, I’m still not back in my apartment (lol), but I am finally back in NYC. And honestly? I’m designing the lifestyle I have always dreamed of.
I love living and working in a new city. It opens you up to experiences you never realized were possible, but it does take time to find your footing. While I try and establish a normal routine whenever I travel to a new place, I still value having my home base.
It’s okay to have anchor income that isn’t your forever thing.
Part of the beauty of having a portfolio career is the ability to change up your income sources. I used to think that if I was getting the majority of my income from what I was doing before (product marketing in tech), that I was failing or falling behind.
But I’m super grateful for my product marketing skills and my network. It’s providing me anchor income, so I can avoid the panic of constantly needing clients or new projects.
Maven workshops are a great acquisition source (hello if you found me through Maven!)
The first two workshops I ever did were solo. I put them on Luma, announced on LinkedIn, and I got pretty good attendance.
But this year, I wanted to see how I could increase my impact, without increasing my workload. And without any promotion on my end, I got 50+ signups and a client who signed up for one of my offers through Maven.
I’d say this experiment was a success 🙂
Sharing other people’s stories are fulfilling.
When I was in elementary school, I started “The Blackburn Times”, a newspaper that I created on Microsoft Word with my family’s news. In high school, I chose journalism as my elective.
Naturally, it makes sense that I chose writing a newsletter as my medium. I recently started sharing more stories of women who are choosing alternative paths, and it’s been a fun outlet for me. I hope you’ve gotten something from them, too.